Jessi: Now it shall get interesting and that's all I'll say ;)
The docks of Waterdeep were never quiet, even this late at night. Vast trade ships from all corners of Troil were drawn up close to land, people swarming over them like ants. The air buzzed with noise and lanterns made the area as bright as noon.
A sailor, staggering drunkenly down the pier, looked upwards at Selune and the tears that followed it across the night time sky. Completely entranced by the moon he did not even see his killer.
Grinning wickedly the lizardman pulled the body into the shadows, out of no regard for stealth, but rather to conceal its meal from the other of its kin. Although, it grinned as it heard the screams cutting through the night, there would be more than enough meat to go around.
From atop of the walls of Waterdeep the Dark Lady watched her army spread out through the alleyways and streets. She knew that eventually her minions would be slaughtered-the city boasted mighty magics.
She did not know of such figures as Khelben Blackstaff or of the Lords of Waterdeep, she only sensed the play of magic above the buildings. She had not even known of the city itself. The mountain, however, remained and, she grinned wickedly, the true goal of all her schemes.
A bright burst of fire signalled the arrival of her mages, followed by the sharp crack of a lightning bolt.
Confident that her army would serve its purpose, she turned, and began her journey to the summit.
The horses were exhausted. Vale's in particular was drenched in sweat and foam frothed in its mouth. Yet the elf, in an uncharacteristic attitude, although these days the paladins were not so sure, kept up the brutal pace.
It had worked though. The trio of horses, Chel slumped in Keroigar's arms, still unconscious, drew closer to Waterdeep.
The paladins saw the smoke and heard the screams of slaughter. If Vale heard them she gave no outward sign of caring. Her eyes remained fixed on Mount Waterdeep's summit.
"Vale!" Samera drew his horse closer to the young cleric, "We must get into Waterdeep. The people... Our friends need our help." The pain in his voice was clear. Both the twins had been born and bred in the City of Splendours.
"Sam..." Keroigar's voice made Samera turn in his saddle. His brother was staring with horror at the mountain and when the paladin saw it himself an identical expression made its way onto his face.
Above the summit was a rolling mass of colour. Shapes briefly burst into existence, demon faces and dragon's wings.
The female elf dismounted and stood stock-still, her unflinching gaze directed onto this strange thing,
"I must go. I must go to Mount Waterdeep."
"Vale, what if they need you in the city?" the magic user ignored Samera and started to walk onwards, "Are you just going to abandon them is that it?" the paladin angrily stomped forward and grabbed Vale's shoulder.
The burst of magic flung him off his feet and he crashed into a tree, his plate mail making a hollow sound.
"Sam!" in an instant Keroigar was kneeling beside his fallen twin, Chel lying like a discarded doll on the roadside. His golden eyes took a fearful glance at Vale.
Her hair writhed in the air like a nest of serpents. Sparks of magic danced across his skin and amongst her tresses. More magic fell from her mouth and her eyes... The eyes that glowed green.
She spread her arms, her palms out, magic weeping from them like stigmata. Her feet left the ground, her body becoming weightless. Her levitation spell in place Vale headed for the summit of Mount Waterdeep.